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Colorado civil unions bill to pass House committee without drama

By Lynn BartelsThe Denver Post

Posted:
02/28/2013 12:01:00 AM MST

Updated:
02/28/2013 08:59:59 AM MST

Rep. Cheri Gerou, R-Evergreen, is behind a civil-unions bill.

A year ago, Republican lawmaker B.J. Nikkel's "yes" vote on a civil unions bill in the House Judiciary Committee ignited a firestorm on both sides of the gay-rights issue and led to one of the more tumultuous showdowns in legislative history.

Another civil unions bill will be heard Thursday in Judiciary Committee, but this time the drama and tension are gone. Democrats now control the House 37-28, and the bill will pass.

And that's a good thing, said Rep. Cheri Gerou of Evergreen, the lone House Republican sponsoring the measure.

"To be honest, I didn't like what happened," Gerou said. "I was ashamed."

Supporters of the civil unions bill plan to rally on the west steps of the state Capitol at noon Thursday. One Colorado, the state's largest gay-rights group, invited rally attendees to watch the hearing afterward.

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Senate Bill 11 is sponsored in the House by two gay lawmakers, Speaker Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, and Rep. Sue Schafer, D-Wheat Ridge. The measure already has passed the Senate.

A year ago, when Ferrandino was leader of the House minority, he anxiously watched as the Judiciary Committee voted on civil unions. Republicans had only a 33-32 majority, so he needed to pick up just one vote.

When Nikkel said "yes," the murmur throughout the hearing room was audible, from opponents and proponents alike. The Loveland lawmaker was alternately praised and panned.

"I feel good about what I did," she said Wednesday. "I feel I'm on the right side of history."

Civil unions died in 2011 in House Judiciary, with every Republican, including Nikkel, opposed. She said she didn't feel good about the vote.

Nikkel did not run for re-election because of how her district was redrawn.

Ferrandino said after Judiciary, the bill will be sent to the finance and appropriations committees, which will hear the measure next week. The debate before the entire House is expected sometime during the week of March 11.

"There won't be as much tension, but it will still be exciting to have civil unions pass," he said.

Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has said he will sign the civil unions bill. Once approved, it becomes law on May 1.

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